I can stomach #3 as a reason, #1 and #2 are absolute bull****. I realize refineries did shut down. I also know that once they go down they just don't start up again. It takes a long time to bring the towers back up to temperature where they can start cracking crude...

But I also know gas is stored in huge ass tanks all across the country, the dip in production for two or three days did not effect the supply to the point where there was a shortage. Other non east coast refineries I am almost postive have not been operating at 100%...why this means everywhere in the country has to take a 10% price hike is ludicrous. There is excess crude around, the blackout did not drop supplies to zero

Why a pipeline burst in Phoenix causes the same thing, again baffles me. This should effect Phoenix (and it did) and parts of the west coast. Here the gas did run out so they do have to get existing supplies down to as low as they can go.

And I concede gas prices will go up in the summer especially over busy holiday weekends, which is actually my biggest gripe about the whole system

Oil companies own everything (besides foreign drilling operations) from the derricks to the pumps to the pipeline and tankers and rail cars to the refineries to the gas stations themselves. Where is there any control over the industry.

Gas station owners make pennies per gallon profit, most of it is tax the rest is the price of gas which is set by a collection of suppliers much like OPEC does with crude. They set the supply, they set the price, they make the profits. They also are able to sell many of the chemical building blocks they recover from the oil to the chemical makers around the country and world. So while we get oil from overseas we sell back the refined products overseas and domestically.

The whole system stinks...all utilities in general stink. You are at the mercy of a corporate America (and for that matter anylysts in Wall Street) dictating what prices will be and to maximize their profits they will gouge you every damn chance they get.

Nothing in my entire life sickened me more (from what I have witnessed personally) than the night of September 11 when I drove around the city and saw gas prices of $4 a gallon and people lined up to get gas. It was amazing...that moment right there made me question the whole industry I am inately involved with and I have thought about the whole thing since that day.

Fuel Cells are the answer to all of the problems, but people have no idea how much money that is going to cost us all. The whole infrastructure change is mindboggling. The sad thing I forsee is that Mobil, Exxon and BP will probably be at the forefront of this technology as well, limiting and hindering the implimentation every single damn chance they get

Yes, I blame it on the monopolistic business practices of huge corporations. I mean, is there really anyone out there to compete with Exxon/Mobil or Chevron/Texaco? The current national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $1.75, an all-time high. Unfortunately the way the system is set up, we're at the mercy of huge corporations and special interests. The same holds true for huge pharmaceutical companies and utility companies. They control us. I guess it's nice to have at least one foot in the door of the nation's highest office.

Well, Dale and I are doing pretty good on a national scale. He's a little better being in Alberta oil country, but I'm sitting at $0.795 a liter. I can never remember if there are four or 4.5 liters per US gallon, so at least quadruple that cost to get an idea what we're paying.

It's a captive market. Ride your bike, carpool, bus or whatever and it won't hurt so bad. I'd love to, but the geniuses at the goobermint I work for decentralized the government and I now have a 60 mile commute. And no, I can't move or my wife will have the commute.

I'm not a big fan of hybrid cars. Their performance lacks where it can be as cold as it is where I am. And as far safety goes, I find them to be lacking, particularly on the highway where I spend 90% of my time.

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. I guess it's nice to have at least one foot in the door of the nation's highest office.

Well, Dale and I are doing pretty good on a national scale. He's a little better being in Alberta oil country, but I'm sitting at $0.795 a liter.

The prices jumped up to 79.5 cents a litre from 71.5 here. Some other places across jumped to 91.9 cents *cough* Vancouver *cough*

When I went to work the other night, the gas stations were normal that I saw, but when the night shift arrived, they told me about the price hike. That morning, I was lucky to find a Mac's store still at 71.5 so I just pulled in & filled up my truck till it puked!

Oil country! When the prices go up, we get nailed big time. Just not right in my books!

Now starting next month, the price of Natural Gas is going up to almost 30%.

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The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board has approved ATCO Gas North's application to hike natural gas prices for September by almost $1.30 a gigajoule.

Starting Monday, ATCO consumers north of and including Red Deer will start shelling out $6.317 a gigajoule for natural gas. For August, the price is $5.026 a gigajoule.The average customer uses about five gigajoules of natural gas in September. "One can only imagine what December will bring us".

Good thing I have a wood burning fireplace. Time to go & get some wood cut for the winter storage!

Yep, maybe two years ago Safeway opened gas bars. They started with an automatic 3.5 cent a litre discount so if it says 79.5 it's really 76.0. Pretty cool.

Even better though are their double discounts, ramping it up to 7 cents a litre. The problem is you never know which store is giving them out and they always expire either that day or the next at most. Completely lucked out with both vehicles near empty and two coupons on Wednesday. It was like gas never went up at all. And if it can creep back down to normal by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, it'll be like it never happened.

Well, gas prices around SoCal have risen about $.50 - $.60 a gallon just over the past 6-8 weeks... Nearly every gas station around here is back over the outrageous $2.00 mark again - for the cheap stuff!

Yeah, yeah... I know - not nearly as bad as some areas of the world (England, etc.) But I've gotten used to about $1.45 over the years, so that's where I'd prefer it stayed for a long time!

Oy! Gas prices here in The Mediocre State of New York have risen, due to the removal of an additive, that was supposed to help fuel burn cleaner, but traces were found in the ground water, so that was removed.

I think the entire country should boycott Exxon or Mobil, just pick one, and buy their gas everywhere else. The boycotted company would drop their prices dramatically and other companies would have to do the same.